Fashion

From Eco to Vintage to DIY, 20 Fashion Sites We Can’t Live Without

EcoSalon’s top 20 favorite sustainable fashion sites from around the globe.

They help us find out about new designers, industry news, trends, learn what sustainable fashion means, and discover all the swanky events we can attend on a global level – these are our eco fashion writers and designers, our go-to girls reporting all the news fit to print, from the exciting and beautiful to the all-too-often tragic and wasteful designer landscape. These are the pioneers of a new type of fashion that explores, connects and draws us in to what the industry could be if we simply supported it more.

We’d like to throw our own hat into this ring, as well- but then, you’re already here reading us, aren’t you?

Past Fashion Future founder Emma Grady says: “I founded Past Fashion Future one year ago as a platform to explore my personal style aesthetic and to show the beauty of timeless and classic fashion and style. I love hearing people’s personal style stories, specifically about their sentimental connection to the clothing that they wear.”

We love the site layout, sharp, stylish images and especially, Something Old, Something New, a series that reveals how modern day style mavens wear heirlooms, vintage, and ethical fashion.

Ecco*Eco is an incredibly visual journal and blog related to “ideas about fashioning self and the environment.” Chock full of exciting textile editorials and sustainable designer finds, founder Abigail Doan says: “I am particularly interested in exploring fiber and textile innovation as a way to find meaningful connections between art/fashion disciplines.”

Doan makes her readers explore the idea of what is sustainable and it’s not always what you think (but always makes sense).

BurdaStyle, is an online social community that uses the web to bring the craft of sewing to a new generation of designers, hobbyists, DIYers and anyone looking to sew. What could be more sustainable than making clothes yourself? Sewers flock here to mingle, share and support over projects, patterns and full galleries of completed designs.

Join their community to keep current with what other budding (and seasoned) designers are doing. We most certainly do.

SIX says it was founded with one aim, “to celebrate the designers, individuals, independent brands and companies who are creating a more ethical and sustainable future for the fashion industry.”
We love how the site incorporates beauty products as well as high fashion and packages it so beautifully we want to read every article.
We also love that SIX represents the sixth sense we all have when it comes to style and value.

Tara St James, founder of Study NY and 4 Equal Sides believes that “open source material plays a strong role in the development of the sustainable design community,” making her the rare designer that has vision enough to see how the sustainable designer’s new model needs to play out. Under her guidance, Study’s interns have developed, produced and continue to sell their own sustainable mini collections. St James is very open about her production and design process and documents her own story as a designer in a visually as well as editorially personal way that makes you come back for more.

FashionMeGreen is a sustainable fashion awareness project and style site. Founder Greta Eagan says it’s “Conscious coolhunting from around the globe,” and we are in total agreement.

All the curated product pulls, designer features, amazing photo editorials and fashion trend pieces give us extreme hope for the future of ethical fashion that it can in fact be stylish enough to become mainstream without anyone even noticing.

“Well, I was a shopaholic. I was always a jeans and sweatshirt kinda girl, but when I graduated from college and got a job in the city, I went a leeeetle crazy with the shopping – okay, a lot crazy. Then I learned about where the clothes I was buying came from and how they were affecting and hurting other people, particularly women and children, around the globe. The idea that these crimes against women, pollution and chemicals going into our water and bodies, and just shear waste were all happening because I wanted a new top or jeans really made me feel ashamed. I knew I had to make a difference in my own life, so I started thrift shopping, supporting sustainable designers and making my own clothes and I feel wonderful knowing that the garments I wear don’t contribute to anyone else being hurt (except maybe for the people who have to look at my crazy outfits).”

Check out Closette for some fun DIY ideas, shop vintage and secondhand clothing or try winning one of her fun giveaways.

Founded by Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Johanna Björk, Goodlifer is all about style and the good life. “With your help, we’re writing a guidebook for a new generation of Goodlifers. We want you to share in and help craft a positive, enthusiastic vision of a future that is both sustainable and achievable. Through first-hand, personal journalism and thoughtful exploration and discussion we’re here to consider daily choices, reconsider assumptions, pose questions, uncover opportunities, make you think and collaborate with us on what it means to be a Goodlifer.”

We’ve been following Timo Rissanen since we came across him in this New York Times article and were more than elated to finally meet him recently at the Yield exhibit in Brooklyn. Timo says on his site: “I’m investigating fashion creation without fabric waste creation through design practice.”

EcoFashionWorld says they aim to inspire with new ideas, ideals and information. “Our goal is to keep you green, gorgeous and growing with a comprehensive guide to finding sustainable designer brands and online eco fashion stores.” For those new to the game and fumbling over the words like Peace Silk or tencel, check out their glossary for the latest terminology definitions.

The Ethical Fashion Forum is a non-profit organization, that makes life just a little more easy “for fashion professionals to integrate sustainability at the heart of what they do.”
Membership to the EFF delivers support for sustainable fashion businesses through three programs with each program including several essential tools which members can take advantage of to succeed in ethical fashion business.

The fashion daughter of Inhabitat, Ecouterre is a heavily photo-curated website devoted to the future of sustainable fashion design. “We’re dedicated to showcasing and supporting designers who not only contemplate cut, form, and drape, but also a garment’s social and environmental impact, from the cultivation of its fibers to its use and disposal. Our ethos: To follow the evolution of the apparel industry toward a more environmentally sound future, as well as facilitate a conversation about why sustainable fashion matters.”

Treehugger

What came first, eco blogging or Treehugger? I think many of us were reading Treehugger when eco fashion was just beginning to evolve past the point of crunchy. Still on track to provide us with timely fashion news, we’ve bookmarked the site and will continue to go back.

Eco-Chick editor Starre Vartan, consultant and author of The Eco-Chick’s Guide to Life, says the main intention of her site is to “inspire readers toward a healthier, more sustainable life (which we think means a happier life too). That includes slowing down, unplugging, getting out, going in, making mistakes and moving on, being choosy, doing research, and growing every day. Rest and relaxation are real and important, and so is time with friends and family. We love local food, farmer’s markets, independent designers, handmade everything, and connecting with where our stuff comes from and who makes it. We especially love inspiring women who keep us on our toes and asking questions.”

Her site covers all aspects of the fashion industry and Starre is a known girl about town on the streets of New York City when it comes to getting the scoop on eco-fashion. If you’re where she is, you’re in the right place.

Magnifeco is an eco-fashion blog currently based in Tokyo by founder Kate Black and features fair-trade, sustainable, organic, recycled, vintage and vegan brands in a place where ethics meet aesthetics. From earth friendly fabrics, to sustainable manufacturing processes and fairtrade practices, the site features conscious designers and products for the conscious consumer.

Market Publique

Market Publique is an eclectic marketplace dedicated to vintage fashion “committed to bringing the community together so we can all have a place to buy, sell and discuss vintage in a positive and focused environment.”
The Brooklyn based company started when the founders realized there was a lack of options for quality vintage sellers online.

We are obsessed with how great the styling is and are always inspired to grab a piece to add to our own wardrobes or to simply wear clothes differently after we leave the site.

Holy McQuillan, Yield Curator, designer and lecturer in the fashion design program at Massey University’s College of Creative Arts in Wellington, New Zealand says since completing her Masters of Design, which explored the presentation of cultural memory through garment design, her work has focused on exploring the possibilities that arise when garment design is restrained by one goal – zero-waste.

Peruse her site or get in touch with her with some of your own zero waste design questions. She will get you rethinking fashion for sure.

Organic Girly founder Jennifer Barckley is not only one of the nicest people we’ve ever met, she’s also a fantastic resource. Utilize her “Ask me anything,” button and she will get back to you quickly. Check her site for periodic updates on vegan and sustainable fashion forays that sometimes even lead her to chicken sitting.

Mary Hanlon’s Social Alterations was “developed with fashion and textile design educators in mind, it also acts to create a platform for design educators to benchmark themselves against other educators not only within their own field, but across various design disciplines. In order to create real lasting change, designers of all disciplines must work together to foster transformation.”

Post navigation

Take A Peek

A vegan eats a baby’s placenta? I gave birth. No, really. A semi-gigantic future sumo wrestler was born out of the most delicate part of my body. After she appeared, an organ almost as big as her pushed its way through me as well. I have witnesses. Miraculously, I did […]

The other day, I pulled my bicycle up to one of those nouvelle food trucks that are all the rage in these parts and ordered myself a delicious, healthy, organic falafel. While a group of us was standing on the sidewalk devouring our lunches, impromptu conversations among strangers just naturally […]

I love to watch babies, enchanted and giggling, as they gaze at mobiles moving gently above their cribs with every breeze and breath. So I was happy to discover an artist who makes stunning, airy mobiles for grown-up rooms, each a tribute to nature’s most graceful branches, leaves and flowers. […]

Here are some of our favorite quotes to inspire living intentionally and with peace. What’s your favorite? 1. You cannot control the results, only your actions. -Allan Lokos 2. The art of living does not consist in preserving and clinging to a particular mood of happiness, but in allowing happiness […]

These Animal Farm tumblers are made from recycled wine bottles and we, well are lusting. The pig said “oink.” The sheep went “baaaa.” The cow sighed “moo” and these tumblers make us go, “ah.” Both whimsical and irresistible, no two cows are ever the same. That’s because they’re hand-sketched on […]

Looking to connect and shape your community? Wondering how to create new social systems? Searching for like-minded, environmentally concerned citizens? Look no further. I’ve found the place you’re looking for: The Hub. The Hub is an international organization with a new platform for innovation and exchange. They aim to combine social […]

More in Fashion

What' s Intresting

Summertime is brutal on hair –whatwith humidity,swimming in pools,the ocean,and all the beatings your hair takes just from whipping it up into ponytails,buns and braids. There are some great conditioners out there to help battered tresses,but for the basic styling issues,let us […]

With 55 million pounds of pesticides sprayed on clothes yearly,the EPA considers seven of the top 15 of these pesticides used on cotton in the United States as “possible,”“likely,”“probable,”or“known”tocause cancer in humans. Thanks to various agencies safeguarding what we wear,“Eco-Friendly”clothingis […]

Of course,I never wasted my hard-earned cash on something I didn’tneed*. But in case you ever have, now there’s a good reason…to go useless. Useless, in this situation, is guilt-free: sustainable, charitable and fashionable. It’s got good written all over it. The eco-friendly brand Useless sells stuff people […]

To help you with planning, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite eco-friendly summer wedding dresses for sustainably minded brides with with differing styles and tastes. Organic fabrics, repurposed vintage materials and pre-owned dresses are all wonderful and sustainable choices for a stylish, romantic and eco conscious look.

I see you. It’s not the present future, or even the past future, it’s the ancient future and it’s really cool. In this time period, you are wearing gilded dresses sewn from free ranging silk worms, dyed in beet juice and sprinkled in gold. Around your neck, this beautiful talisman […]

Column10 finalists compete to have their design produced in The IOU Project’s “Made in NYC” Capsule Collection. The DIY with IOU Sustainable Design Competition recently announced their 10 finalists in the race to have their fashionable creation produced as part of The IOU Project‘s inaugural “Made in NYC” Capsule Collection. […]

It’s hard to wrap your brain around shorter skirts unless: 1. You have killer legs 2. You are young 3. You are a cheerleader or 4. You don’t care, you like to expose yourself. If you’re #4, just do you what you want you little vixen, but for the others […]

It’s nearly time for Beach 2012. If covering up slightly is your cup of tea, we’ve found seven sexy, sustainable one-pieces for you to take to the beach this summer. A few weeks ago we found seven sexy bikinis for you to take to the beach this summer. If a […]

My partner in Sixties vintage couture crime, artist Joan Davis, called me the other day and said I had to check out Torso Vintages, an ultra cool used couture outlet in San Francisco’s Union Square. In town just a few days to pedal her flower-powered paintings, Joan had immediately sensed […]

Hats are a summer necessity. If you plan on going outside at all, you’ll need some kind of hat to protect your delicate and beautiful face. We’ve rounded up five summer appropriate fashionable hats that are all cute and totally season appropriate. 1. Forever 21 Sun Hat We’ll start with […]

Are Anthropologie and sister company Urban Outfitters supporting independent designers or ripping them off? Earlier this month, indie fashion lovers went wild when Anthropologie debuted Made In Kind, its new “project in collaborative design.” With an initial offering of 11 exclusive, limited-edition capsule collections, Made In Kind shines a spotlight on […]

Confession: I have a bit of a shoe fetish. This can be explained by one very simple fact. I hate my feet. So I compensate by covering them up with the most gorgeous (albeit, not always the most comfortable) shoes I can get my hands on. For the past year […]

Made your New Year resolutions yet? Don’t forget your beauty kit. Get your routine streamlined and healthy for 2015 with these natural beauty resolutions. You’ve likely heard of the less is more approach to healthy beauty. As in, using fewer products means fewer ingredients on your skin. So true, but […]

I remember Andrea Linett as Lucky Magazine’s last page caricature that I wanted to emulate – admittedly, as much as I yearned to be Jo, the motorcycle mechanic, feathered hair babe from Facts Of Life or Kim White of Kim White Handbag glory. Put all three of these women in […]

One of my closest friends is a scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic and is researching ocean acidification. (Side note: That will be a separate story on how women scientists are judged by how tough they look on the job versus looking stylish in any way.) Regardless, only right that she […]

It was only about a year ago that I made a conscious decision to stop using plastic bags to cart my groceries. When the light bulb finally went off in my head, I felt ashamed that I spent so many years adding toxic waste to our already teeming landfills and […]

When I think stainless steel, I think…cutlery. Sturdy, dishwasher-safe knives, forks and spoons. Stainless steel does not usually bring pictures of blooming flowers and jewelry into mind”¦until now. Meet designer Laura Su, who works with stainless steel (an eco-friendly, sustainable material) to create simple and modern earrings and necklaces inspired […]

The Sustainability Across America Tour is a journey to bring the eco-movement to the people in a grassroots, human kind of way. I’m Laura Jones, a writer armed with my curiosity, my laptop and a VW van. I’m traveling around the USA to deliver this movement from the ethereal marketing-wash […]

Posts navigation

What's New

Need to infuse your jewelry box with some new baubles? We’ve got you covered. The upcoming August EcoSalon giveaway is full of beautiful pieces of jewelry that are made ethically. Want to get to know the brand that’s part of the giveaway? We’ve got you covered… Soko empowers nearly 1,000 […]

August starts tomorrow and that got us thinking… Summer is coming to an end. We know you all probably want none of that talk, but them’s the brakes. To help you fashionably say goodbye to summer as the nights get colder (and hello to those cool, early fall mornings), we’ve […]

Yoga. Pilates. Yoga. The popularity flip flop between these two forms of exercise is tough to keep up with. When it comes to Pilates vs. yoga there may be quite a few factors to take into consideration. A longstanding tradition in India, yoga in the West is often looked at as a practice […]

Beachy waves are great and all, but short is super chic. The thing is, how do you know which short haircuts for women will look good on you, and which ones… well, won’t? Between Julianne Hough’s incredible bob and Miley’s gorgeous pixie, short haircuts for women are having a serious […]

Does going green in the beauty department mean you can never use a luxe face cream again or have to go makeup free? Gosh no! There are natural beauty products for every type of gal. Find out what your organic beauty profile is and which products you are sure to […]

Posts navigation

Hot Right Now

Signs you might be taking the whole single life thing a little too far. The single life is awesome—the freedom, the endless amounts of “me time,” the fact that wearing pants is no longer mandatory—but there comes a time in every single woman’s life where she starts picking up “single […]

As a kid, I watched a lot of those PBS National Geographic type shows that visited Indigenous cultures around the world. And I always got knots in my stomach when the camera panned over topless women with elongated sagging breasts. It wasn’t the esthetics of it—I was too young to […]

EcoSalon’s Made In America Box features items that are made right here in the U.S.A! July is an all-around patriotic month here in the states, so join your fellow eco-friendly patriots with a box of products worth $494.85, for just $129 + free shipping! You see it everywhere: The […]

Science says men who clean the house have less sex. Here’s why science can suck it. Back in the day—okay, 2013—a study came out that said men who do more chores around the house have less sex than husbands who don’t clean the house as much. (Can I meet the […]

There are a lot of loaded words falling out of people’s mouths these days. Many of these words are gendered and their traditional definitions are awful. Since society is changing… slowly… very slowly… I think it’s time to put a positive spin on these words. I mean, they obviously aren’t […]